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New Favorite Place - Review of Sheraton Sand Key Resort

New Favorite Place

This was the first time that me and my family vacationed at the Gulf of Mexico and we chose this hotel. We were not disappointed. The staff was friendly. The place was clean. And you could not beat the location!!! People who stayed here were as friendly as the staff and the atmosphere was relaxing.

If you are looking for a relaxing Gulf vacation - this is the place.More

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Stayed: July 2014, travelled with family

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Ask traveldad16 about Sheraton Sand Key Resort

Thank traveldad16

This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC

Thank you so much for taking the time to recognize our outstanding associates. They truly enjoy going above and beyond to make your stay special. The location is great and I’m glad you met many nice guests. We actually have many return guests who come the same time every year so they can meet up with friends they originally met here. We are thrilled your vacation was one to remember and hope to see you again soon!

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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC

This was a spur of the moment trip, We live in Orlando and wanted to go to the beach but with two little ones making it a day trip takes a lot from waking up, driving, spending the day and then traveling back, so we decided to stay at the Sheraton Sand Key, The location was great right over the 2nd bridge on the main road, this way your near the Clear water pier and activities, but with out all the craziness of the travelers just going to the beach for the day.

Check in was quick and easy (we did arrive around 5) after check in, The beach is lovely, it is a little walk from the hotel to the actual shore line, especially with little ones. but it was well worth the walk!

We will be back, just the beginning of many family vacations to come! Next time we will need to stay longer!

Stayed: July 2014, travelled with family

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Ask DYParker about Sheraton Sand Key Resort

Thank DYParker

This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC

I was thrilled that your little get-away was a success. I am sure you enjoyed the time away with the children and memories were made. Fun times building sandcastles, swimming in the pool, hopefully spotting Dolphins playing. Mom and Dad relaxing with none of the outside interruptions. We look forward to being the place for your family vacations and yes, do please plan a longer stay.

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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC

The Sheraton Sand Key is part large conference center and part tourist beach hotel. It’s located just over the bridge and south of Clearwater Beach, FL so is ideal for getting away from the city scene. I combined a two week business trip with a mini vacation and brought the family down spend time with me and to enjoy the beach while I was at a client site during the day working.

Hotel rooms are fairly old and small and the bathrooms just big enough to turn around in. As an SPG Platinum I was upgraded to a room on a high floor overlooking the parking lot, which wasn’t exactly my idea of an upgrade! Apparently all rooms are equally as small.

The conference goers during my stay included a large number of FBI agents and uniformed paramilitary police officers most of whom were packing weapons, along with an interesting array of armored HUMVees and other transportation in the parking lot. Not sure who they were expecting, but if Al-Qaeda were to attack the hotel, then they were ready! Fortunately the Gay Pride festival was being held some miles away in St Petersburg or there might have real been trouble!

The tourists consisted of a lot of families with small kids, most of whom appeared to be from Alabama based upon accents and a proliferation of wife-beater tee shirts, adorned with Alabama insignia. I was kept awake many nights by screaming kids throwing temper tantrums in the hallways and parents who were AWOL. Almost no one took the slightest notice of “Quiet Please” signs on doors and little kids were regularly kept up till midnight by their boozing parents.

Room cleaning staff faced a truly daunting task each day dealing with trashed cramped rooms with no real space to store suitcases or other things. Its no surprise therefore that they missed a lot of things. That being said the maid who cleaned my room was very friendly and the room was left cleaned even if coffee and shampoos weren’t always stocked up.

There is an SPG Club Lounge on the roof of the hotel (no roof access sorry!) It provides snacks and drinks between 5pm and 7pm and a cold breakfast 6am and 10am. The day I arrived a heard of families with small kids were grazing their way through every morsel of food, wine and beer, such that there was almost nothing left by 5:20pm when I walked through the door. The beer ran out almost every night and the wine ran out most nights by 6pm. The staff was very friendly but had a difficult time re-stocking food and drinks fast enough to support the number of people hitting the lounge. They had an equally difficult time keeping little fingers from touching all the food while parents were oblivious to their roaming and unsupervised offspring! The menu didn’t vary much and with so many little fingers touching the plates of food, we decided to eat elsewhere.

The hotel has two restaurants and a café – one restaurant hosts the breakfast buffet which was a mild improvement over the Club Lounge, the other is more of an evening place with live musak. On two occasions I went into the latter establishment with my wife and we both sat at the bar waiting to be acknowledged and served for quite some time. It was at least 10 minutes on the last occasion, such that we almost got up and left. Bar staff don’t look around to see what is going on and seemed to avoid eye contact where possible. We never went back. The menu consisted mainly of deep fried, or junk food.

The hotel is located on a sand key and the sand dunes that once separated it from the Gulf of Mexico have been bulldozed, cleaned and flattened to provide a wide flat beach area. The hotel photograph is misleading unless sea levels have dropped massively in the last year or two. It's a good 150 yard walk from the edge of the hotel property to the ocean. Volleyball courts and other entertainment adorn this upper beach area, which is ploughed by tractor every morning to keep it flat and to stop the dune grass from growing back.

The hotel pool is much smaller than the official photos suggest and was crammed packed with bodies unless you visited at 6am. There’s also a single hot tub and the pool has a small bar. The hotel has a very convenient gift shop where you buy coffee, postcards, stamps and a heap of other things.

The hotel parking lot is policed during the day to prevent day-trippers from parking there to use the beach. It seems to be a theme throughout the entire Clearwater beach area. There’s a trolley bus that runs to and from Clearwater for $2 per head each way, but its frequency is not great and it often runs hours late. Parking seems to be $5 per day if you can find an all day lot or $3 per hour for covered parking at other hotels. Clearwater has a heap of restaurants, shops and other distractions, including a pier.

Overall this hotel was an interesting adventure but I don’t think I’d go back again. We spent far more time at nearby hotels in their pool, restaurants and bars, even though we were staying at the Sheraton. This is plainly a resort hotel and lacked most of the quality aspects that you would find at other Sheraton brand establishments. The clientele was also markedly different and my teenage daughter was uncomfortable with a lot of the gawking stares from other guests.

Room Tip: Ask for a room on a high floor away from the elevators or high traffic if you don't want to be woken up at all hours. Rooms overlooking the tennis courts have a good view of the ocean and are quieter. Rooms overlooking the pool are noisy.

Stayed: July 2014, travelled on business

Location

Sleep Quality

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Ask Richard S about Sheraton Sand Key Resort

7 Thank Richard S

This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC

It is our goal to effectively meet the expectations of our guests and provide excellent customer service. I apologize that we did not meet your expectations and have taken particular note of your comments. I have shared them with the appropriate managers

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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC

We really enjoyed our week here. The local area isn't great for exploring but we chose it for a week of relaxation by the sea and the Sheraton delivered.

We were poolside every day and arriving at 9am every morning we had our pick of tables and sun loungers. Although, strangely, none of the loungers had any umbrellas - those were all fixed in the tables.

The restaurants within the hotel were friendly and offered a variety of dining choices. The breakfast buffet was excellent, only lacking an omelette station.

We'd go back again - after a week in Orlando it made a change to not have to do anything or go anywhere and just lay in the sun reading and drinking.

Room Tip: Check whether your room faces the early morning (6;30am) activities. The Zumba woke me up the morning they had it on the tennis courts.

Stayed: June 2014, travelled as a couple

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Ask Ge0ffA about Sheraton Sand Key Resort

3 Thank Ge0ffA

This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC

It is our goal to effectively meet the expectations of our guests and provide excellent customer service. It is gratifying to read that your experience here with us was very positive. There are no umbrellas on the chairs on the pool deck itself is due to OSHA Standards. The standard states “Keep chairs, tables and umbrellas in out of the travel path.” I am pleased you enjoyed our Food and Beverage outlets. I will shared your suggestion on the omelet station with our Executive Chef. Once you get on the Island of Sand Key you leave all that commercial stuff that clutters life behind and we are reminded of the beauty of nature that surrounds us. The sounds are so peaceful and serene; how can you do anything but relax. We will look forward to a return visit.

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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC

We chose to stay at the Sheraton Sand Key because of the SPG program and because it seemed to be one of a limited number of area properties with good beachfront access. Although the hotel has some positive points--- such as the large stretch of beach--- there were some significant negatives. The rooms were clean, but a little dated and generic in appearance. The space was poorly used, with a cramped area for the toilet and bathroom but a spacious room. The bed was very comfortable with high-quality bedding. The rooms unfortunately seemed to have little soundproofing, and the hotel is overrun with young children. You could hear everything they were yelling through our wall and also hear others walking down the hallway. In the morning, there was some kind of vacuuming or maintenance being done upstairs that we could hear. Outside the room, although there seems to be quite a bit of land that would have been available, the pool is undersized for the number of guests. There was no open space to sit or be in the pool, and we didn't ever go in. As others have mentioned, it's a bit of a trek to the beach. Beach chairs were $25 + tax for two chairs and an umbrella for the day. Although the charge was a little annoying, the chairs were comfortable and I was glad we were able to get them and lie in the shade. Otherwise, they probably would have been totally reserved (as they were at the pool). Our rate included the breakfast buffet, which was OK but probably not worth paying for at the stated amount other than for the convenience. The buffet is tucked into a corner in the restaurant, so it gets very crowded and slow at peak times. The resort had a convenience store, resort-wear shop, and a casual bar, which seemed convenient. To do something different for a day, we drove to St. Petersburg and saw the Chihuly Collection and the Dali Museum. The drive was longer than it looks, but very doable for a day-trip. I think this hotel might be more suitable for families than for couples.

Stayed: July 2014, travelled as a couple

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Ask ClevelandTravels about Sheraton Sand Key Resort

1 Thank ClevelandTravels

This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC

Please accept our apologies for having missed the opportunity to impress you. I am pleased you enjoyed our “Sweet Sleeper” bed. There are many things to explore and do. Depending on the route you take that trip should take less than an hour. Both the Chihuly Collection and the Dali Museum are worth that drive. This time of year we do have a number of families. We also have many months that we have a very tranquil environment which might be more suitable for couples.

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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC

I booked this hotel for the July 4th Holiday, as we usually stay at the beach. I was amazed and pleasantly surprised at how much less the traffic was over the Sand Key Bridge. The location is perfect, beachfront but without the craziness of Clearwater Beach. The beach is pristine, and although it is a few hundred feet from the hotel to the ocean, it is well worth the walk. We paid to rent padded chairs and umbrellas, and it was a great decision. There were games, slide and volleyball courts set up on the beach, and we took advantage of those as well. The 24-hour hotel shop is stocked with great snacks and drinks and in the perfect place to buy something and then head out to the beach. Great layout. And the staff was terrific! We had to have the manager redo our reservation, as the 'cheap' booking site put my family of four in a room with a king bed. Even with the hotel 100% booked for the July 4th Holiday, the manager was able to give us a room with 2 queen beds. The rooms are a bit small for a family of four which includes 2 tall teenagers. But with such a great beach, we weren't there much. We will definitely go back, and if I were a bit smarter I would not write this review. I don't want our discovery to get too crowded for the next time we visit!

Stayed: July 2014, travelled with family

Sleep Quality

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Ask cnelson09 about Sheraton Sand Key Resort

Thank cnelson09

This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC

I am delighted you found our resort to be an oasis from the busy Clearwater Beach area and that you had a relaxing and enjoyable experience. It is an entirely different environment yet just 2.0 miles away from all the activity. I am pleased the Front Desk associate was able to reassign you to a room more suitable for four people. Our associates sincerely want you to enjoy your experience here. We have brought beach tennis Pro, Steven Cutler, as the Pool and Beach Activities Director to coordinate activities and provide resort guests with beach tennis lessons and an array of activities for guests of all ages. Sand volleyball games, corn hole and other outside activities are fun for all. I bet those two tall teenagers enjoyed the activities. You don’t need much to enjoy a day at the beach. Clear skies, hot weather, not too many people and liberal amounts of sunscreen – that’s about it. It’s here that you can tune out the world, your worries and your obligations and just reflect. You may not know how much you need a vacation like this until you actually get there and come away utterly refreshed. We look forward to your return.

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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC